CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eyewitness News Anchor Blair Miller sat down with CBS Radio personality Francene Marie Morris to discuss the growing need for school supplies, the increased cost that families are struggling to meet and how the Channel 9 School Tools campaign is helping local students in need.
The campaign is in its 17th year benefiting kids in the surrounding 22 counties and through the support of Communities In Schools and Classroom Central, School Tools asks viewers to log on to 9schooltool.com and make a donation. Blair discusses how kids are affected by not having the right school supplies and how 100 percent of every donation does directly to the students in that county.
SPECIAL SECTION: School Tools
The National Retail Federation estimates families will spend an average of $161.27 for an elementary school student (a 33 percent increase, from $120.87), $198 for a middle school student (a 32 percent increase) and $893 for a high school student (a 5 percent increase) on back-to-school shopping this year.
Compared side by side with the same school supplies last year, taking into account clothing, technology and required school supplies, families would spend on average:
• $577 for elementary school students, a 5.3 percent increase from 2012.
• $763 for middle school students, a 5.3 percent increase from 2012.
• $1,223 for high school students, up 9.5 percent from 2012.
The School Tools campaign is the region's largest school supplies collection. Supplies are given to students in grade K – 12 needing items to be successful in the upcoming school year.
WSOC
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